BNC targets region with smelter

Published: 30 May 2014

AIM-listed Mwana Africa's Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) is targeting to process minerals from other countries in the region at its Bindura smelter and refinery complex once refurbishment has been completed.

BNC owns a six-in-line furnace, as well as a copper/nickel refinery with capacity to process some of the concentrate that is currently being exported.

The smelter has, however, been lying idle for the past several years and early this year the corporation said it would begin work on revamping it.

Addressing delegates at the Imara Investment conference, BNC managing director Batsirai Manhando said the smelter would be operational in the third quarter of next year.

"We are looking at how we can reduce transportation costs and minimise penalties for exporting the concentrate itself. Our focus is to restore the smelter back to what it was so that we can value add our nickel.

"The smelting and refining complex also processes third party material from the region so once we do get running we should be able to attract material from the region. So if we run our smelter and process and value add, we could cut down on that transportation cost and we can get more value for our nickel than we are getting currently," he said.

BNC owns and operates the Shangani and Trojan nickel mines, as well as the Bindura complex. The corporation also owns the Hunters Road nickel deposit, which is currently in the pre-development stage.

Manhando said the operations at Hunters Road were being looked into with the view to getting feed stock for the smelter and refinery.

He said added that the refurbishment would be financed in part from company coffers while the other part was being sourced from investors He reiterated that the smelter could also be upgraded to process platinum in line with government's directive for platinum producers to set up a refinery by year end.

The smelter has potential to process close to 100 000 t/y of concentrate coming from the platinum producers.
- BH24